Republic

14 February 2019

Drinking water in Belarus meets international safety standards

Drinking water in Belarus meets the international safety standards including the standards of the World Health Organization, Head Doctor of the National Center for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health Anzhela Skuranovich said as she attended the opening ceremony of the international conference Modern Trends in Water Supply and Sanitation Development dedicated to the 145th anniversary of Minskvodokanal water services company, BelTA has learned.

Anzhela Skuranovich noted successful interdepartmental cooperation in water services including the Clean Water sub-program. Thanks to effective cooperation, Belarus’ citizens have access to clean and safe water. “In the last decade, the quality of water has been stabilized. The share of samples with abnormal microbiological indexes has not exceeded 1% for several years. At present, Belarus’ Healthcare Ministry is revising and developing new up-to-date hygiene standards of water quality and safety,” Anzhela Skuranovich said and added that the basic approaches remain the same.

She recalled that in 2018 a lot of effort was put into improving legislation. Sanitary and epidemiological requirements to exploitation and maintenance of water sources and water supply systems were approved last year.

Anzhela Skuranovich said that hygiene and sanitation as well as proper management of water resources are prerequisites to good health of citizens. One of the strategic targets of the Sustainable Development Goals is to provide the population with safe drinking water which helps extend life expectancy and improve quality of life.

The international conference Modern Trends in Water Supply and Sanitation Development is held in Minsk on 13-14 February. Taking part in the conference are representatives of the Housing and Utilities Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, waterworks companies, the Minsk City Executive Committee, universities, research and industrial design institutes, specialists in the area of water supply, wastewater treatment, environmental protection, environmental sanitation, young scientists, and vendors of specialized equipment. The event is organized by Minskvodokanal and Belarusian State Technological University with the assistance of the Housing and Utilities Ministry.